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Belgium's French-speaking Walloons have finally backed down on the EU's long-awaited trade deal with Canada after a week of marathon talks, agreeing to accept the terms with a declaratory protocol that changes nothing.

Charles Michel, the Belgian prime minister, declared that an internal accord on the EU-Canada pact - known as Ceta - was a triumph for parliamentary democracy, but admitted later that it "does not change a single comma under international law".

The deal is a litmus test of whether the EU is institutionally capable of reaching complex trade treaties as member states and constitutional regions each demand their own say.